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Reitman to Adapt Next Book by Kaui Hart Hemmings, 'The Possibilities'

Yet another project lined up for Jason Reitman, who has seemingly regained his mojo most recently after directing and premiering Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Reitman is currently in production down in Texas on his next film, titled Men, Women & Children. But THR is now reporting he has another one lined up. Indian Paintbrush and Reitman's Right of Way Films have optioned the rights to adapt Kaui Hart Hemmings' next book, titled The Possibilities, and Jason is attached to direct so far. Hemmings is the author behind The Descendants, a novel adapted by Alexander Payne that won a Best Screenplay Oscar.

The novel The Possibilities, the second novel by author Kaui Hart Hemmings, a Colorado College graduate born and raised on Hawaii, is set in a Colorado ski town about a grieving mother struggling to overcome her son's death. It hits bookshelves on May 13th this summer. Here's the full synopsis for the book via Amazon:

Sarah St. John, a single mother, is reeling from grief: Three months ago, her twenty-one-year-old son, Cully, died in an avalanche near their home in the ski resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado.

As Sarah tries her best to go through the stages—the anger, the sadness, the letting go—she has trouble keeping her grief at bay and moving on with life. Her father, a retiree who has become addicted to QVC, urges Sarah to go back to work at Breckenridge’s local morning show. Her best friend, a recent divorcee who always manages to say the wrong things, convinces Sarah to sort through Cully’s belongings. Slowly, she comes to terms with a world without the swish of her son’s ski pants or the rolling of his skateboard outside her window. Then a girl named Kit appears on Sarah’s doorstep—and she’s carrying Cully’s child.

The Possibilities is a tender and darkly funny story about the fracturing and healing that takes place within a family after tragedy. Told in Kaui Hart Hemmings’s unsentimental and refreshingly wry style—praised as “audaciously comic” by The New Yorker—this uplifting novel asks difficult questions about what we risk to keep our loved ones close.

Following up his work on Labor Day, this is the perfect film for Reitman to queue up. But it's not only his only one. He's also attached to a project called the Pale Blue Dot and also produces films through Right of Way (he was an executive producer on award winning Sundance film Whiplash putting filmmaker Damien Chazelle in the spotlight), in addition to his Live Script Read performances. THR only says that Reitman is "attached to direct" The Possibilities right now, with the usuals producing including Reitman. This sounds like something that would fit right into his groove with excellent dramas set in intimate locations, I'm very curious to read the whole book once it's out. Reitman is currently working on Men, Women & Children, so we'll keep an eye out for any updates on this or other projects he's involved with coming up. Sound good?

Reader Feedback - 3 Comments

1

Yeah it does. Especially considering that Reitman is a Payne fan. Also it seems like a completely different project from what he did last, which is great and means he's keeping it fresh. Looking forward to it!

DavideCoppola on Jan 29, 2014

2

"...titled The Possibilities, and Jason is attached to direct so far. Hemmings is the author behind The Descendants..."
Maybe it's just me, but I wish authors and filmmakers would use "The ___" a little less when coming up with titles. Haven't read either book so I don't know if there's some weird integral reason for the 'The'; if not, Possibilities - or something else entirely - might be both more pleasing and stand out more against a million 'The' movies.

Wafffles on Jan 29, 2014

3

More interested in Pale Blue Dot, does anyone know what the deal is with that? Sounds like a Sagan biopic...